caywood



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

` A. D. GAYWOOD. SAFETY DEVICE EOE ELEVATOE SEAETS.

Patented Mar; 14,1893.

(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. D. CAYWOOD.

SAFETY DEVIGE EOR'BLEVATOR SHAPTS. No. 493,423. Patented Mar. 14, 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT D. CAYWOOD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNDER- WRITERSHATCH-DOOR COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ELEVATOR-SHAFTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 493,423, dated March14, 1893.

Application filed August ."29, 1892.

To @ZZ whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that LALBEET D. OAYwooD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Safety Devices forElevator-Shafts, of which the following is a specification.

It is common to provide elevator-shafts in buildings with hatch-doorsnormally fastened in open position by electric locks adapted to beactuated by the effect on thermostatic connections with the locks of theheat of ire in the building to release the doors and permit theirautomatic adjustment across the shaft, thereby to prevent the latterfrom operating as a liue to promote the progress of the lire. Such anapparatus is set forth in Letters Patent of the United States No.416,103, dated November 26,1889, wherein there is provided an array oflocks, one for each hatch-door, and an electrical switch in combinationwith mechanism for operating the bolt under an arrangement whereby thesliding of the bolt in the operation of unlocking will cut theelectro-magnet of the lock out of the circuit and form a connection withextended wires arranged to carry the circuit farther on. The closing ofthe hatch-doors is liable to be produced at any time, even While anelevator is moving in the shaft, by fire in the building; and the causemay also be accidental Ormischievous operation of the locks to releasethe doors, in either case rendering the arrest of the elevatoncarnecessary to prevent. it from striking the doors and producing materialdamage.

The object of my improvement is to provide a safety-attachment adaptedto operate,when ever a hatch-door is closed from any cause, or wheneverthe electrical impulse is produced that will release the hatch-doors, tohold the elevator-car against moving from any position in which it maybe at the time of its arrest.

My improvement involves as its essential features an electric lockadapted to be placed in circuit with the hatch-door lock or locks of thenature of those hereinbefore referred to, and an arrester in somesuitable form normally engaged by its lock and connected with anysuitable part of the operating mechanism Serial No. 444,341. (No model.)

of the elevator, as with the operating rope or lever, and operating whenreleased by the lock to exert its arresting effect on the elevator-car.

My improvement is represented, as to mechanism and arrangement which atpresent appear best adapted to the purpose, in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l is a view in side elevation, partlybroken,of myimproved attachment, with the cover of the lock-chamberremoved to display details of construction and showing thearrester-portion of the attachment as held in its normal non-operatingposition by the lock. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same showing thearrester-portion released from the lock and in its operating position.Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are sections taken respectively at the lines 3, A and 5on Fig. l, viewed as indicated by the arrows and enlarged. Fig. 6 is abroken sectional view taken on the line 6 of Fig. 3 and viewed in thedirection of the arrow. Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrative ofthe battery circuits.

A is an electric lock comprising a metal case A containing theelectrical mechanism, the lock being shown as fastened upon abase B,which may be a mere block of wood adapted to be secured in convenientposition relative to the operating rope frfor an elevator-car (notshown) as to a wall of the elevator-shaft near its base.

C is an electro-magnet supported in the case A and provided with anarmature C on a rockshaft qand controlled byaspringo,attached to an armt extending transversely from the rock-shaft near one (its upper) end,to tend normally to withdraw from the magnet. T0- ward its lower end thearmature-shaft q is provided with an arm o2 (Fig. 5) forming a bearingfor a set-screw operating against the back of the case A contrarily tothe springt, to limit the extent of withdrawal of the armature; and onthe same side of the armature-shaft as the arm c2, but near its upperend, is a bent finger p extending at its outer end in the normalcondition of the armature, `under the free end of a levcrD,said endhaving a slightly beveled upward extension the lever being fulcrumed att, near its opposite ICO end, to the back of the lock-case and recessed,as shown at 0 (Fig. 6) in its upper edge near the fulcrum.

E is a bolt in the form of arock-shaftjournaled in vertical position inthe sides of the case A near the end thereof opposite that containingthe armature-shaft, and carrying at its upper end a transverselyextending finger n and below but parallel with the lattera similarfinger m. The shaft E is controlled by a spring l tending to turn itinto the position in which it is represented in Fig. 2, wherein thefingers n and m extend lengthwise of the lock-case; and turning theshaft, (through the medium of a thumb-piece 7c provided on it for thepurpose) in the direction to cause the fingers to extend transversely ofthelockcase sets the spring and causes the fingern to enter the recess oin the lever D and by bearing, on its Way to the recess, against theshoulder shown as in advance of it, raise the lever from the fallenposition in which it is illustrated in Fig. 2 to that in which it isshown in Fig. l, in which last-named position it rests at its free endon the armature-shaft fingerp; having been enabled by its beveledextension fr, to wedge its way past the latter in attaining its raisedposition, but being stopped by the finger from falling after being soraised and in this position of the shaft E the finger m bears against aflat contact-spring t' connected with a binding-post 71, from which theoutgoing circuit wire w leads back to the battery, the inleading wire wbeing connectedwith a binding-post h on the upper side of the box,whence connection is made with one end of the magnet C. Anotherbindingpost 7i? also on the upper side of the box, carries acontact-spring z" and has connected with it the conductor 102, whichleads to a hatch-door lock (indicated at A2 in Fig. 7) of the kindhereinbefore referred to-and which is thus included in the circuit ofthe lock A, and which, furthermore, might involve the same constructionas the lock A, provided it has a suitable catch on the bolt E to engageits adjacent hatch-door and hold it open.

The finger m on the rock-shaft E, by normally bearing against the springt' holds it out of contact with the spring z" and closes the circuitfrom the wire w and binding-post 71', through the magnet, thence throughthe case A', bolt Fl, linger m and spring z' through the conductor w,until, under the conditions hereinafter described, the bolt E is turnedto withdraw the finger m from the spring 2', When the latter makescontact with the spring z" and closes the circuit through the conductorwz. Below the thumb-piece k, the cylindrical bolt E is flattened andenlarged atf (see Fig. 4) to afford a catch for a hook g forming an endof the elevator-car arrester F, of which thed following is adescription:

A bell-crank lever eis fulcru med at its angle on a suitable base Bwhich may be connected with or form part of the base B, and terminatesat one arm in the hook g already referred to, being Vpivotally connectedat its other arm with a link e', with which it forms a species oftoggle. The link e carries at its free end a weight d and has pivotedbetween its ends one member c of a pair of jaws, the other member cthereof, with which it is pivotally connected at to, forming a rigidpart of the base B', and adjacent to which is abracket b supporting apair of sheaves b between which extends a chain b2 or other mediumnormally held between the jaws and carrying at one end a weight d, theother end being immovably fastened, as through the lnedium of a suitableclamp a with the operating cable r of the car, or otherwise with anysuitable part of the elevator controlling mechanlsm.

A bearing ,c is provided in the case to receive the screw which fastensthe cover G in place.

The operatipn is as follows: It is to be understood that only onearrester is required for an elevator and is intended to be connectedwith but one (preferably the lowermost) of the series of locks. Theparts of the device are shown in their normally relative positions inFig. l, wherein the armature is withdrawn from the magnet, the lever Dis held from droppin g by resting at its free end on the finger p andthe boltE is held, by the finger n in the recess o, in position topresent its flattened or catch portion f to the hook g, therebymaintaining the link ein horizontal position against the tendency of theweight CZ to turn it to the position in which it is represented in Fig.2 and thus open the lnember'c of the jaws to release .the chain b2 heldbetween them, and which is normally slack between the sheaves and cabler to avoid interference with the operation of the latter. Vthen, fromany causo the`circuit is closed on the inleading wire W', the armature Cis attracted by its magnet C energized by such closure of the circuit,the finger p, turning with the armature-shaft, is removed from itsposition of sustaining the lever D, which drops on its pivot t to theposition in which it is represented in Fig. 2, thereby releasing thefinger n from the recess 0 (by the then inclined, or fallen, position ofthe lever D removing the shoulder adjacent to the recess from the pathof the nger n) and permitting the recoil of the spring Z to turn thebolt E. The bolt by so turning breaks contact between the nger m andspring t', thereby permitting the latter to contact with the spring z"and thus shunt the current to the hatch-door lock A2 to which the wirerc2 leads; and, furthermore, it releases the hook g by removing fromopposition to it the flat side or catchportion f. On the release of thehook g, the gravity of the weight d forces the bell-crank e and link eto the relative positions in which they are illustrated in Fig. 2,thereby turning the jaw c in the direction to open IOO it and free thechain b2, when the weight d falls and exerts its gravity, through thechain, on the elevator-cable r to stop the car. Thus, as will be seenthe first effect of the generation of the electrical impulse,

(whether it be to open or close it, the parts being relatively arrangedaccordingly) is to operate the arrester F though the arrangement might,obviously, but not so desirably, be such as to operate the arrestersecondarily as the result of the primary operation of a hatch-door lock.

It is to be clearly understood that I do not limit my improvement to theparticular construction shown and herein described in detail, for thesame result may be attained in various other ways that may suggestthemselves to those skilled in the particular art, but which I intendshall be included as within the spirit of my invention.

The course of the current will be clearly understood by reference toFig: 7. In this ligure is represented, as a circuit-closing medium, awell-known kind of thermostat T, comprising two contact-springs w3, 103,in the line 10', normally insulated by a readily fusible insulatingmedium 204, such as wax. In case of fire, the heat will melt theinsulation 104, thereby producing contact of the springs 103 and closingthe circuit, to cause the current to flow from the battery over the wire10 through the lock A and produce the operation thereof hereinbeforedescribed; and from that lock the current proceeds over the wire i0 tothe opposite pole of the battery. When, by the action of theV magnet inlock A, the springs t, t" therein make contact, the current is shuntedto the wire 102, over which it passes to the lock A2 and through thatlock over its return-wire t0 back to the battery; the shunted current inthe lock A2 passing over the wire 102 to another hatch-door lock A2 (notrepresented) and so on to the end of the series of hatch-door locks,each one of which is actuated in turn by the current to release ahatchdoor as hereinbefore mentioned.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. In combination with an elevator car, controlling mechanism therefor,two or more electric locks electrically connected in series in normallyopen circuit provided with automatic circuit closing means, and anarrester connected with said controlling mechanism and normally engagedby one of said locks, whereby closure of the circuit actnates theseveral locks in succession and, by actuating the arrester-engaginglock, releases the arrester to operate the said controlling mechanism,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination with an electric lock, an arrester comprising a chainadapted to be connected at one end with the controlling mechanism of theelevator and carrying at its opposite end a weight, pivotally connectedgripper-jaws normally held by the lock in closed condition andsustaining the weight-carrying chain, and means for actuating thegrippermechanism to disengage the chain when said mechanism is releasedby the lock, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In combination with an electric lock, an arrester F comprising asuitable base carrying a bell-crank ehaving a hook g on one arm toengage with the lock, a gripper-jaw c', a pair of sheaves b', a weightedlink e pivotally connected with the other arm of the bellcrank andcarrying a pivotal gripper-jaw c, and a chain extending between theVsheaves and carrying at one end aweight d and adapted to be connected atits opposite end with the controlling mechanism of the elevator,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In combination an arrester F for connection with the controllingmechanism of an elevator and an electric lock comprising a suitable casecontaining an electro-magnet C and circuit therefor, a pivotal armatureC provided with an arm p, a recessed lever D normally supported by thesaid arm, contactsprings t' and t" in said circuit and a spring bolt Ecarrying a finger n to engage the lever at its recess and a finger mnormally maintaining the springs out of contact, the said bolt normallyengaging with the arrester, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

5. In combination an arrester F for connection with the controllingmechanism of an elevator and an electric lock comprising anelectro-magnet C and circuit therefor, a pivotal armature C providedwith an arm p, a lever D having a recess o and normally supported bysaid arm, contact-springs t' and t" in said circuit, and a spring bolt Ecarrying a finger n to engage the lever at its recess and a finger mnormally bearing against the spring t' to maintain it out of contactwith the spring t', a thumb-piece 7a on the bolt and a fiat portionthereon below the thumb-piece and affording in the normal position ofthe bolt a catch for the hook-end of the arrester, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

ALBERT D. GAY WOOD.

In presence of .I W. DYRENFORTH, M. E. WINN.

IOO

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